Korea’s Si Woo Kim fought to a 1-under 71 for tied seventh place in the third round of the US$20 million BMW Championship on Saturday to keep alive his hopes of advancing into the FedExCup Playoffs Finale, the TOUR Championship next week.
Related: Matsuyama’s run ends, Im, Kim chase Scott in BMW C’ship
Kim, a four-time PGA TOUR winner, traded five birdies against four bogeys at Castle Pines Golf Club in Colorado for a 6-under total and trails 54-hole leader Keegan Bradley, who shot a 70 to lead on 12-under. Bradley will take a one-shot lead over Adam Scott (74) into the final round with Swedish duo Ludvig Aberg (71) and Alex Noren (70) sharing third place on 10-under.
View this post on Instagram
Another Korean Sungjae Im returned a 73 for tied ninth place on 5-under while Byeong Hun An carded a 71 for a share of 18th place on 4-under.
Kim knows he must improve on his driving accuracy after missing six fairways which contributed to his dropped shots. He is currently projected to move from 44th to 33rd place on the FedExCup points list, with the top-30 on Sunday advancing into the TOUR Championship at East Lake.
View this post on Instagram
“It was a tough day. Started well on the front nine with a few good birdies but the back nine was challenging. I missed a few fairways and you get penalized when you are in the rough here. I fought hard and was disappointed to bogey the last,” said Kim.
View this post on Instagram
He is ready to give it his all on Sunday as he is also fighting to play his way into the International Team, which the automatic top-6 players will be confirmed for the Presidents Cup next month after the BMW Championship. Kim is currently ranked 14th on the team list and is hopeful a strong finish will also ensure he remains in captain Mike Weir’s plans for the six automatic picks who will be named after the TOUR Championship.
“I’m still in a good position and have everything to play for tomorrow to try and keep my season going and qualifying for the TOUR Championship. I just need to play the back nine better,” said Kim.
View this post on Instagram
Im, who is presently ranked 10th on the FexExCup points list, is poised to qualify for his sixth successive TOUR Championship appearance while An is projected to remain in 15th position to make his first appearance in the Playoffs Finale.
